More than a third of the $2 billion Sony spent on acquiring Destiny 3,6 developer Bungie will be used to "encourage" employees and developers to continue working at the studio, according to Sony's latest financial report.
The report for the third quarter of fiscal 2021 details what the global company was paying for when it bought Bungie earlier this week and reveals that a third of the total is used to keep employees (who are the primary shareholders) up and running.
Bungie operates as a privately held company, most of which are owned by its employees. After Sony formally acquires the company (as the acquisition must pass regulatory approvals), shareholder-employees will be paid approximately $1,2 billion over the next few years, provided they continue to work at Bungie. Kotaku assumes more than 900 employees, $1,2 billion roughly just over $1 million per developer, and everyone owns an equal number of shares.
Sony also said it expects about "two-thirds" of the money earmarked for these payments to be spent within the first two years after the purchase is complete. A Washington Post report says employees will receive 50 percent when the Sony deal closes, and 50 percent over the next few years.
As a whole, Bungie will maintain its creative independence as a studio following the Sony acquisition and plans to continue to support Destiny 2 as a multiplatform game over the next few years.
